Archives for March 2003

At the time of implementation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of June 28th 2002, a transitional period was specified in the legislation. This period was recommend by Canadian Parliament as a necessary measure to allow as much of the existing backlog as possible to be cleared out under the Regulations in effect at the time that applications had been made. This transitional period will end on March 31st 2003, at which time all applicants who have not received an interview waiver, or attended a successful selection interview, will be subject to the new selection criteria described at the following here.

Applicants who submitted cases prior to January 1st 2002 will be required to achieve a pass mark of 70 points or greater, Those whose cases were submitted on or after January 1st 2002 are required to meet a pass mark of 75 or greater. In either case, the legislation also contains provisions by which Canadian immigration officers can approve or refuse an application, regardless of the score of the applicant, based on the provisions of “substituted evaluation.”

By the end of February, most visa offices had announced that all scheduled interview slots had been filled, and began advising applicants to prepare to meet the requirements of the new criteria. In addition to the selection criteria, however, existing applicants are also being required to meet new provisions concerning the submission of applications, including new requirements for the format of documents, new form requirements, and the common requirement for submission of objective test results to demonstrate skill in one of Canada’s official languages.

As important as the criteria itself, the new provisions concerning the presentation and format of the application can be critical to the outcome of the application.

Amid the objections of applicants, legal professionals, and politicians alike, the retroactive manner of the implementation of these new laws and the laws themselves are part of a continuing debate inside Canada’s courts. Only as these actions resolve themselves will the final outcome of the legislation, and of the applicants affected, become known.

The country’s rapidly ageing population, coupled with a dearth of young workers, will cause a major shortage of potential employees and could mean immigrants will account for almost all of the labour force growth within a decade, Statistics Canada suggests.

Census data for 2001, released yesterday, predicts potential worker shortfalls in a vast range of occupations by 2011, from family doctors to bricklayers.

The projections underscore the importance of making Canada an attractive destination for skilled workers from other nations, especially because industrialized countries are competing for their attention, said Jeffrey Reitz, a professor of ethnic and immigration studies at the University of Toronto.

The coming mass-retirement of baby boomers is one of the challenges that now stand in the way. Figures from the 2001 census, released last week by Statistics Canada, foreshadow that the boomers, who represent 47 per cent of the workforce, are set to leave skill shortages in the wake of their retirement, starting about a decade from now.

To get the kinds of workers it needs, the city will need to take full advantage of the skills possessed by its immigrants, too many of whom work below their potential, says Cheryl Gorman, executive director of TalentWorks, a body of the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation, which was commissioned by the city to produce the “talent plan” for Ottawa.

The government will spend $41.4 million over the next two years to attract more skilled workers and foreign students to Canada and to help workers find jobs once they get here.

And at a time when the vast majority of immigrants settle in Toronto, part of the money will be earmarked for efforts to attract immigrants to smaller communities.

The goal is to help the skilled workers who make up the bulk of Canada’s annual intake of immigrants to land on their feet, jump through hurdles if they need professional accreditation and also to improve language skills.

The government also wants to streamline the process for issuing student visas.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre said the budget was a step in the right direction for his drive to make immigration a regional phenomenon in Canada, rather than something that focuses only on major centres like Toronto.

Finance Minister John Manley, in his budget speech, said: “Canada’s distinct knowledge advantage is built by expanding the skills of our labour force and by helping every Canadian who wants to work, including new Canadians, to apply their talent and initiative.

“We will invest $41 million over the next two years to help new Canadians to integrate quickly into our economy, whether it is second language skills, or faster recognition of foreign credentials, or pilot projects to attract skilled immigrants to smaller communities.” Much of the new money, $13 million, will be spent in partnership with provincial and territorial governments as well as regulatory bodies and employers, to speed up the credential assessment process for immigrants in certain professions.

Another $10 million will be devoted to pilot projects in language training, to upgrade the level of second-language training given to newcomers.

About $6.6 million will help launch a fast-track system for processing applications from skilled workers with Canadian job offers. And $8 million will be go to better processing for foreign students’ study permits.

In a pet project of Coderre’s, the government will invest $3.8 million to work on approaches to attract skilled workers to communities across the country. Nearly 80 per cent of newcomers gravitate to Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal, with the majority settling in Toronto.

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